Traditional Turkoman heart-shaped pendant, but decorated with spiral, paisley floral designs in Turkey. Silver with oval carnelian cabochon 1.75 x 2.5 inches
The traditional design has been modified with the more Islamic decoration that was supposed to appeal to the more contemporary Turkish audience - an interesting blending of cultural influences.
I found these near the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul while on the hunt for, now very elusive, traditional Turkoman jewelry. Apparently I was about 20 years too late. Several vendors told me their fathers had been in the Turkoman jewelry business, but now Turkish and tourist customers were more interested in gold.
I persisted though, and finally one vendor took me outside the bazaar to his other shop and tuned me loose in the basement where I dug through trays of very tarnished and corroded components including some Turkoman and Tibetan pieces that had been collected by his father. I bought some, hoping that I'll be able to clean them up, and these pendants along with a slightly larger one of the same design (AFS-295)
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